Yuja Wang's cold virtuosity is only technique and thighs in the wind

I agree with you, as Robert De Niro used to say "all talk and no action" nothing more.

Crazypiano wrote:

To me, whoever wrote the article is an incompetent!

You might not agree with his judgment on Wang, but he doesn't seem incompetent to me.

Mario Leone

Born in 1981 in Gravina in Puglia. For as long as he can remember, there hasn't been a day without music: played, studied, listened to, or written. The piano and the choir are his life's studies. Teaching is a very fun challenge. He tries to follow the musical life rules of the late Schumann while also writing for Corrieremusicale. Music is either beautiful or it is ugly. This is the only distinction. L'Urbe has adopted it. Hélène Grimaud is his ideal woman. A Milan fan “from the cradle to the grave”. [from "ilfoglio"]

In short!... Opinions are always debatable, some even highly debatable (perhaps with arguments).

But to be called incompetent, one needs to state inaccuracies. Such as, for example, stating that Bach composed the Great Fugue.

For example, thighs in the wind are absolutely not an evaluation parameter; if he played with a burlap sack... what would change in the result?

Nothing, so some things could have been spared... sometimes even envy becomes a "great" motor

she is certainly a pianist who makes people talk a lot about herself as well as about her pianism.

si had already said of her.

i like how she sounds....to have her virtuosity!

certainly in some situations she "seems" to instrumentalize some of her qualities, not only physical but also of piano technique (and this can cause controversy) to accentuate the attention on herself....is she wrong???

Open content (youtube)

😉

Ah thanks frank! This way it is equally very beautiful and its virtuosity emerges more serenely....

I do not agree that Wang is another female version of Lang Lang...

I invite you to listen to this selection of Scriabin, in particular the prelude in G-sharp minor (you can find it at 3:09).

One could say it is anything but a virtuoso prelude. The phrase always emerges with a very beautiful sound. There are certainly performers I like more, but one really cannot say what I read in the article about Wang.

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Could someone please deliver part of this video (prelude) to this gentleman, hoping that he will see reason and change his mind. If Mr. Mario Leone is then disturbed by Wang's revealing clothes, it is enough for him to close his eyes and listen only to the music.

Lang Lang = circus virtuosity

Wang = expressive virtuosity

virtuosity = extremely high-level technique.

Crazypiano wrote:

On 4/11/2017 at 11:46 PM, Crazypiano said:

Yuja Wang's cold virtuosity is just technique and thighs in the wind

http://www.ilfoglio.it/musica/2017/04/11/news/il-freddo-virtuosismo-di-yuja-wang-e-solo-tecnica-e-cosce-al-vento-129846/

For me, whoever wrote the article is an incompetent!

Hi,

I also support what was written in the article. I am obviously referring to the cold virtuosity. Wang is well-endowed with virtuosity, but nothing more. I find her interpretations quite static.

The issue of skimpy clothing is a way to distract the listener. People talk about Wang, but I can cite Khatia Buniatishvili or Lola Astanova in the same vein. All are beautiful and semi-dressed during their performances, but all with the same "defect": lack of interpretation and great virtuosity.

Another great pianist, but who certainly has virtuosity, great interpretation and... clothes (!!) is Helene Grimaud

Bye

Giorgio B.

I will never tire of saying that the art of doing something or saying things through it is neither virtuosity, nor showmanship, nor technique and a thousand other ne... art is a combination of intuitions, heart, and love that a single person gives to the world by realizing themselves. I believe it reaches the hearts of those who see, read, or listen. There are things that reach the heart and others that do not; no one can decide this, least of all the performer. Of course, technique is important, but when the fire finishes emitting its heat and its light, then it is among the ashes that we will see the true substance of things. History will bring, and has always brought, clarity and justice to all those who, by serving humanity, despite themselves, have given it something to which every man of good sensibility will forever give value.

I am firmly convinced of this.

The article centers on the problem but is too one-sided; it does not recognize the expressiveness that Wang is sometimes (not always) capable of. The comparison with Lang Lang is correct, except for the fact that, on an expressive level, Wang is able to go, on this occasion, far beyond what Lang Lang is capable of doing. And let's not even mention Khatia Buniatishvili, who cannot hold a comparison and is totally dedicated to showmanship. I attended a concert by Wang at the Lingotto in Turin. In the first part, I listened to a virtuoso with beautiful legs, and I would have been tempted to agree with the columnist. But in the second part, she brought to life a Prokofiev Eighth Sonata of absolute level: never heard so alive, emotional, moving. The beautiful girl with steel fingers had transformed, on this occasion, into a pianist of absolute quality, comparable to the greats. And the Eighth Sonata is the most difficult not so much on a technical level, but precisely on an interpretive level. I therefore invite you to (try to) ignore the legs and listen without prejudice. There can be surprises

I do not know this Mr. Mario Leone, but reading his article, I get the impression that what emerges more is his spiteful envy rather than constructive criticism. There isn't a single word that provides context for his demolition of the great pianist. The fact that she is a beautiful girl is not a negative thing. If these figures manage to interest the new generations and not those of the "stuffy academics," then they are more than welcome. Furthermore, both Wang and Lang are two excellent artists, and one can even forgive them a march at 300 km/h! Remember, Argerich was also beautiful too. We all waited for her to emerge from the fifth [row] and remained ecstatic by her beauty behind those raven hair. When she sat at the keyboard, the sounds came out easy and precise, and the phrases were full of expression and pathos.

I would like to say to this gentleman, whose curriculum seems quite "vague" to me, that one must provide more constructive and detailed criticism without resorting to the usual and gigantic mockeries "from atop the mountain." The video posted by Simone gives us the answers! Excuse me, but I do not approve!

P.S. In my opinion, and I have stated this in other posts, it is wrong to separate Technique from Music. Technique is Music. Technique is not pure mechanism... but Art at the service of Music (Techné = Art of making). Sometimes Music itself suggests how to resolve the technical aspect. In great pianists, everything seems easy to us because the "difficulty," what we call a "technical problem," is overcome, sublimated... it does not exist... so great is the musical aspect! The latter prevails over everything and it is only a matter of reaching the choice, being convinced of it. He who guides us in listening to his Music without continuously underlining what he is doing is, in my opinion, an excellent musician who knows how to communicate his Art. Therefore, when we listen to the Greats of the keyboard and beyond, let's not ask ourselves "but how does she do it?"... instead, let's listen to "what she does" and what she tells us, and internalize it. Conscious listening is a great Master. Let us also, while studying, listen to our phrases, expression, the foregrounds and the sonic backgrounds... which perhaps will truly suggest the "miraculous" technical solutions to us. This is my thought

Hello everyone and excuse the intrusion, I'll say right away that it isn't envy. Before getting into the slippery subject of envy, here are my impressions: Yuja's bare back doesn't bother me, maybe at first it did. The fact is, it doesn't seem to me that she uses clothes as a tool to gain fame, but on the contrary, since she already has fame, she manages to dress however she wants, ignoring criticism. Soloists are either very humble or extremely egocentric; she is egocentric, but not like someone who wants to seduce, but like those people who work out in the gym and then want to show off. Her whole body is athletic, it's not just about being thin and pretty; so she displays her hard work.

I could never get used to the irritating Lola Astanova—that one, yes—to break through she relies on shiny clothes (perhaps also to help the visually impaired), with movements designed specifically for the occasion (at 50 she'll have the back of a bodybuilder or excruciating pain) and her statements: "I dress 'well' because the audience paid"; insinuating that others dress poorly...

That said, in discussions of this type on YouTube (a bit less here), there is always sooner or later the user who says it's all envy (even if it isn't, who can prove they are NOT envious?). They have said it here too, but I don't think it's envy. Not envy, but fear, dread.

Fear of being dethroned, of being overtaken by an army of Chinese people. The Japanese weren't that scary; there were quite a few, but not many. In China, everything happens with disproportionate numbers: millions of piano students, many of whom quit, many are mediocre, and a small group emerges, but still a huge number, in a country that has 1/3 of the world's population. We only see these latter ones, sent in entire legions to competitions. A understandable fear, also fueled by certain comments on YouTube from users who judge a pianist based on speed. And Wang, with her light arms, is one of the fastest, or at least one of those who put speed most on display.

To drive away the fear, one must look at what "we" non-Chinese have. Do they work hard? So do ours! We have virtuosos in every part of the world. In Italy, there is no shortage... And when there is something new, a rediscovered composer, it turns out there isn't a Chinese person: the piano with pedals becomes fashionable again? Here you have a Prosseda and not a Wang playing it. They are more stuck to the safe repertoire: Chopin and the other Romantics, Mozart, and the Russians.

However, by acting like the journalist in the above-mentioned article—that is, minimizing if not zeroing out (!!) the merits that even the Chinese have—one comes across as someone who, due to prejudice, is unable to judge much.